Effective September 16, 2024, the second wave of innovations within Microsoft 365 Copilot is available. These include:
- naming changes,
- introduction and new features of BizChat, and
- advanced AI capabilities within OneDrive, SharePoint, Excel, Teams, Outlook and Word.
Naming Changes
Rebranding to Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft has rebranded its AI assistant from “Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365″ to “Microsoft 365 Copilot”. This is the same name it had from its introduction in March 2023 to autumn of 2023. The name “Microsoft 365 Copilot” reflects the increasingly deep integration with the Microsoft 365 suite. It is also easier to pronounce and has been widely associated with the product since its release.
Microsoft Copilot in Windows
Effective September 26, 2024, Microsoft Copilot in Windows is available. Integrated into Windows, it will empower you to complete tasks and create faster. It is available via the taskbar (Copilot icon at the bottom right) or with the Win+C keyboard shortcut. Copilot in Windows features the new Copilot user experience, called Bing Chat, and is available to commercial customers for free. Bing Chat was first called Bing Chat, then Microsoft Copilot, and now Bing Chat again.
Bing Chat Enterprise
Bing Chat Enterprise builds on Microsoft Copilot and adds commercial data protection. With Bing Chat Enterprise, chat data is not saved, Microsoft has no eyes-on access, and your data is not used to train the large language models (LLM). Bing Chat Enterprise is available as a standalone and is included in Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5.
This was first called Bing Chat Enterprise, then Microsoft Copilot, and now back to Bing Chat Enterprise.
Business Chat (BizChat): A faster Copilot
Starting September 2024, Business Chat (BizChat) is Copilot’s new user interface (UI). It is the new name for the previously unnamed Microsoft Graph-grounded chat experience of Microsoft 365 Copilot. This central hub brings together all your web-, work- and line of business data. Found under copilot.cloud.microsoft, it uses a Large Language Model (LLM) that responds faster than the one on copilot.microsoft.com. It is also available for non-Microsoft 365 Copilot users, who are signed in with a Microsoft Entra account.
Business Chat (BizChat): Copilot Pages
Starting end of September 2024, Microsoft Copilot, found under copilot.microsoft.com and copilot.cloud.microsoft, features Copilot Pages, which allow employees to collaborate on various Copilot outputs and edit them directly on the page. You can see your team’s changes on-page in real time and can iterate with Copilot like a partner to add more content to your Page.
SharePoint and BizChat: Agent Builder
The new agent builder, powered by Copilot Studio, enables users to build and automate Copilot agents with specific expertise. These Copilot agents automate business processes, ranging from simple tasks to fully autonomous operations. They integrate seamlessly into your workflow and operate in the background. Pre-built agents are also available, like the Visual Creator for generating images, designs, and soon, videos.
Starting end of September 2024, you can quickly create Copilot agents right in BizChat. Available in preview in early October 2024, agent builder will also join SharePoint.
In BizChat and SharePoint, you can mention the agent with a @ to share new information or ask questions. You can build a more advanced agent and further customize it in Copilot Studio.
SharePoint: Text rewrite capabilities & natural language page creation
Apart from the new agent builder, SharePoint gets two new features with Microsoft 365 Copilot: Text rewrite capabilities and natural language page creation.
Effective September 2024, text rewrite capabilities help you spend less time adjusting the wording on your SharePoint sites and pages. The rich text editor gives you writing suggestions to make your text more engaging.
In early 2025, natural language page creation allows you to use natural language to create visually appealing SharePoint pages. This lets you:
- Apply branding and themes
- Adjust typography and fonts
- Create grids and layouts
- Add videos and images
- Use animations and motion effects
OneDrive: Analyze files without the need to open them
Available end of September 2024, Microsoft 365 Copilot in OneDrive offers new functionalities such as summarizing documents, answering questions, and comparing up to 5 files – without opening a file. These features make it easier for users to manage and navigate their files and enhance overall productivity.
Excel: Python integration
Effective September 2024, Microsoft 365 Copilot in Excel is available. This integration allows users to:
- Work with unformatted data
- Utilize advanced formulas like XLOOKUP and SUMIF
- Apply conditional formatting
- Create visualizations such as charts and PivotTables
- Support text data
Additionally, in public preview effective September 2024, Copilot in Excel with Python brings data analytics to the next level. This Python integration enables the following features:
- Advanced data analysis
- Forecasting
- Risk analysis
- Machine learning
- Complex data visualization using natural language, without any coding
Users who need faster calculations with premium compute and access to manual or partial recalculation modes need to purchase the Python in Excel Add-on through an Enterprise Agreement (EA) or the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.
PowerPoint: Narrative Builder & Brand Manager
Effective September 16, 2024, Microsoft 365 Copilot in PowerPoint includes a Narrative Builder and a Brand Manager feature.
Narrative Builder helps users create structured outlines and add relevant topics and files. This makes creating a first draft of your presentation faster and more efficient.
Brand Manager ensures that all content aligns with the company’s branding, maintaining consistency and professionalism in presentations. In the near future, you can upload company-approved images to your SharePoint Organization Asset Library and access them in SharePoint.
Teams: Improved content recognition
Effective September 2024, Microsoft 365 Copilot in Teams has been upgraded to reason over both meeting transcripts and chats. This improves the summary of discussions. This way, users have a complete picture of what was discussed, improving meeting productivity and follow-up actions.
Outlook: Prioritize My Inbox
Available in public preview starting late 2024, the new Prioritize My Inbox feature in Microsoft 365 Copilot in Outlook prioritizes important messages. This ensures that critical communications are not missed and helps users stay organized. It prioritizes based on the content of your email and the context of your role. It also understands who you report to and prioritizes accordingly.
Copilot automatically generates a concise summary of each email. It also tells you why it prioritized the message and provides top insights.
In the near future, Copilot users will be able to specify important topics, keywords, or people that will get prioritized more highly.
Word: Quick referencing
Coming in late September 2024, Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word allows you to quickly reference content from various sources from:
- Web data
- Work data (Word, PowerPoint, PDFs, encrypted documents)
- Emails and meetings
Other recent updates include:
- A new, on-canvas start experience with suggested prompts
- The ability to collaborate with Copilot inline on specific sections of your document
Innovation Waves: Looking Ahead to Wave 3
Microsoft announced that there will be three waves of innovation, bringing new capabilities to Microsoft 365 Copilot. While Wave 2 has now been announced, Wave 3 is expected to bring even more advancements in 2025.
More information
Find the announcement video here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7236780403867443202/about/.
Learn about Copilot in Excel: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/excel-blog/unlock-the-power-of-copilot-in-excel-now-generally-available/ba-p/4242810.
More about Copilot in SharePoint and OneDrive innovations: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-365-copilot-wave-2-ai-innovations-in-sharepoint-and/ba-p/4245159.
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